Raw Vegan Nori Rolls and Carrot Cake thumb print cookies

One raw lunch option with the convenience of a traditional sandwich is the nori roll. Nori rolls are simple to make, provide plenty of room for improvisation, and require no special equipment. They're a good vehicle for leftovers and whatever vegetables you have on hand.

The basic ingredients for a nori roll are flat sheets of nori seaweed, available in Asian markets, health food stores, and many traditional supermarkets; vegetables like leafy greens, scallions, sprouts, or harder vegetables like carrots peeled into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler; and some kind of spread like guacamole, hummus or miso. You could also include condiments like pickled ginger or wasabi, or something with a rice-like consistency like the parsnip/carrot rice I made a few days ago, or soaked almonds or sunflower seeds pulsed in a food processor.

To make a nori roll, first lay a nori sheet shiny side down on your cutting board or sushi rolling mat if you have one. Cover the third of the nori closest to you with your lettuce or other leafy green. Next lay down your “rice” if you have one. If you don’t, pile on the other vegetables, ending with your condiment or something with strong color like a carrot ribbon, or strong texture like alfalfa sprouts.  This last ingredient will be the center of your roll.

Next coat the third of your nori farthest away from you with your spread. Finally, begin rolling your nori keeping it as tight as possible. When you get to the end, the moisture from your spread should seal the roll. But if isn’t secure, you can use a little warm water to close it up.

You could eat your roll as is if you’d like, or you could slice it into bite-sized pieces so you can see the layers of vegetables. If you’ve used a sushi roll, these pieces probably look perfectly round. But even if you didn’t, they’d still look pretty.  And if you serve imperfect nori rolls at a party no one is going to think, “Hey, this nori is lop sided.” Nope, they’ll think, “Wow. Nori rolls. What a great idea.”


For dinner I made something really decadent to accompany my salad: raw carrot cake thumb print cookies with a dollop of cashew cream frosting.  

I slightly adapted this recipe from One Green Planet, subbing six dates for the agave, and using the food processor to grate the carrots. I didn't want them to be as large as cupcakes so I shaped them like cookies. Yeah, they came out a little lumpy looking. Go ahead and laugh. But Jake and I agreed they taste even better than traditional carrot cake, which is to say they are oh my god delicious.

Today's Chow:

Breakfast: smoothie with one banana, strawberries, Swiss chard, lambs quarters and mint. No oils or nuts. This smoothie tasted fresh and light and extra delicious, but I did get hungry before lunch.

Lunch: nori rolls, kale salad with tahini dressing, golden raisins and soaked pecans. (Soaking raw nuts and seeds improves their digestability.)

Dinner: green salad, carrot cake thumb print cookies with cashew cream. 

Drink: cucumber, mint, lime and very little salt blended with water.